‘Rest in peace, Yong Le.’ — Ex-President Halimah says more can be done to care for mental health of youths

SINGAPORE: Former President Halimah Yacob shared a screenshot from an article about an 11-year-old boy, Yong Le, who took his own life last year after he was questioned at school in the wake of an alleged incident of stealing.

The screenshot highlighted the efforts of Yong Le’s father toward better mental health care in schools.

Madam Halimah wrote that the Straits Times’ report had filled her “with a great sense of sorrow over a promising young life, so abruptly ended. My deepest condolences to the family. Suicide is the leading cause of death among youths aged 10 to 29 in Singapore.”

She also noted how the problem is a complex one with multiple factors involved and that the environment that today’s youth live in is a stressful one, describing it as “fuelled partly by unrealistic societal expectations and their own aspirations of what it means to be successful.

If we can do more to help our young navigate this very stressful period of their life, especially those who face greater difficulty in coping with their challenges and emotions, we should. Rest in peace, Yong Le.”

Her post appears to have struck a chord with many in Singapore, who discussed better ways to help young people who may find themselves in similar situations.

“I personally feel that when interrogation and counselling is needed, one parent should be present. The parents know the child better. Maybe a councillor can be present too. The educator should be a senior person or a vice principal,” one suggested.

“The situation could be handled with more empathy and with an approach for different kinds of children, and in this case, a much softer approach should be used,” another wrote.

“Rest in peace to the young soul… Our hearts go out to the bereaved family. Hopefully, lessons can be learned from this episode to reduce such tragedies,” a Facebook user chimed in.

“Embarrassing a kid doesn’t work nowadays. Kids nowadays are very, very sensitive and emotional. They are like little adults. Be a safe place for every child to speak without judgment and without fear of harshness or punishment, without knowing the issues a child is facing.

Instead of focusing on the mistake a child made, focus on their emotions. Focus on how they feel about it. Focus on what made them do it. Focus on making them a better person by promising them that you will be there to guide them and be there if they need help,” wrote another.

A commenter wrote: “Many retirees are looking for meaningful work to do… can train them to contribute to helping the youth.”

Another expressed that they “Sincerely hope MOE (Ministry of Education) can look into this and review SOP for disciplinary action. Also, perhaps we might also need to revamp CCE (Character and Citizenship Education) lessons, to enable students to find a safe space to talk about their feelings, challenges in their lives.”

If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health issues, the following helplines are available:

• National Care Hotline: 1800-202-6868 (8 am—12 am)
• Institute of Mental Health’s Mental Health Helpline: 6389-2222 (24 hours)
• Samaritans of Singapore: 1800-221-4444 (24 hours) /1-767 (24 hours)
• Singapore Association for Mental Health: 1800-283-7019
• Silver Ribbon Singapore: 6386-1928
• Tinkle Friend: 1800-274-4788 and www.tinklefriend.sg
• Community Health Assessment Team: 6493-6500/1 and www.chat.mentalhealth.sg /TISG

Read also: Suicide remains leading cause of death among Singapore youths for 3rd year in a row